Over the last decade or so, companies have installed enterprise networks with one or more local area networks in order to allow their employees access to various network resources. To improve efficiency, enhancements have been added to local area networks such as wireless access. Based on this enhancement, wireless local area networks (WLANs) have been and continue to be utilized by more and more companies.
Typically, a WLAN supports communications between wireless stations (STAs) and Access Points (APs). In general, each AP operates as a relay station by supporting communications with other network devices, such as wireless stations and other APs being part of a wireless network, as well as with resources on a wired network.
Currently, sub-networks (referred to as “subnets”) have been created in order to direct multicast and broadcast transmissions from an AP to smaller groups of wireless stations. One well-established network configuration used by WLAN is referred to as “/24,” where approximately 250 network devices can be grouped as part of the same virtual local area network (VLAN). In general, a “VLAN” is a logical subgroup within a local area network (e.g., WLAN) that is created via software rather than manually moving cables in the wiring closet. It combines network devices, such as a plurality of wireless stations (STAs) for example, into a single collective group regardless of its physical LAN segment.
While this network configuration technique is acceptable in a wired network since the stations are stationary, wireless stations can vary in physical location. Hence, in some situations, the number of stations at a specific location may exceed the number of wireless stations supported by a particular VLAN.